


Lightning Terrace

by verbaeghe



Category: Hockey RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Not Hockey Player(s), Gen, Tampa Bay Lightning, Team as Family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-08
Updated: 2017-07-08
Packaged: 2018-11-28 05:29:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,196
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11411208
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/verbaeghe/pseuds/verbaeghe
Summary: Nikita groans, burying his face into the arm of his couch when his doorbell rings. He swats his hand about, searching blindly for his phone. There’s no way anyone should be knocking on his door at -- he squints one eye open at his phone -- eight?!Who rings someone’s bell at eight in the morning?!





	Lightning Terrace

**Author's Note:**

  * For [blueorangecrush](https://archiveofourown.org/users/blueorangecrush/gifts).



> Thanks to my awesome beta, like always :)

It’s late when Nikita finally finishes moving the last box into his new condo. He’s relieved to be done, with that part anyway, but he’s exhausted and just wants to sleep.

Unfortunately, there’s about fifteen boxes on his bed because he’s a freaking idiot. He stands there, frowning at his bed like that will do anything before giving up with a sigh. He tugs his blanket out from under the boxes and heads for the couch.

He can deal with everything in the morning.

 

//

 

Nikita groans, burying his face into the arm of his couch when his doorbell rings. He swats his hand about, searching blindly for his phone. There’s no way anyone should be knocking on his door at -- he squints one eye open at his phone -- eight?!

Who rings someone’s bell at eight in the morning?!  

Nikita is just going to ignore it and hope that whoever it is goes away, but they ring again and so that doesn’t seem likely. He sighs heavily, shoves himself up to a sitting position.

“Coming, I’m coming,” he calls when the bell starts yet again. Nikita crosses to the door, rubbing at a crick in his neck.

He sticks his eye up to the peephole, jumping back when he sees nothing but a brown eye looking back at him.

“What the heck?” he mutters, pulling the door open. There’s two guys standing on his porch. They’re holding a plate of cookies covered in plastic wrap and are engaged in conversation.  

“--be we should come back latter, Tyler.”

“No, look! Here he is!”

Nikita blinks at the brightness beaming at him with when the guy, Tyler apparently, turns towards him and smiles. 

“Hi, I’m Tyler! And this is Ondrej!” he holds out the plate. “We brought cookies!”

“I’m sorry,” Ondrej says. “He’s a little...excitable.”

“I am not,” Tyler whines, and Nikita would probably be lying if he said that he didn’t think Tyler’s ducky little voice is sort of cute.

“You are,” Ondrej counters with a little laugh. He turns back to Nikita. “Sorry that we came over so early, but Tyler just _had_ to be the first one to welcome you.”

“Are others going to come welcome me?” Nikita asks, slowly reaching out to accept the cookies that Tyler is still brandishing at him.  

“Um, maybe?” Ondrej replies, obviously hedging.

“Don’t worry, everyone is swell!” Tyler adds.

“Swell?” Nikita raises an eyebrow.

“I just always wanted to say that,” Tyler’s eyes have taken on a bit of a dreamy, far away look.

“I...think it’s time for us to leave,” Ondrej places his hands on Tyler’s shoulders, leads him away from Nikita’s door.

“Thanks for the cookies,” Nikita says half-heartedly, turning back into his living room.

“Nice to meet you!” Tyler and Ondrej call together from halfway down the sidewalk...so they’re _that_ couple.

The door is already closed before he realizes that he doesn’t have any idea which condo his new neighbors came from.

 

//

 

Nikita huffs when there’s a knock at his door. Over the last few days he’s been oh, so fortunate to meet Cedric, Ben, Andrei, _two_ Jonathans, and Ryan. He doesn’t have any idea who could even be left for him to meet. He drops the towels in his hands back into the box he just pulled them from.

“Hi, I’m Steven!” Nikita looks at the extended hand before accepting it. “I’m the president of the HoA board,” he continues.

“Nice to meet you,” Nikita mumbles.

“Likewise.” Steven is charismatic without being bubbly like Tyler was. Nikita thinks maybe he’ll like Steven best as a neighbor. “Anyway, I’m sorry I didn’t stop by sooner, but I was out of town.” He smiles easily. “My anniversary, with Alex, been together since 2013.”

Nikita is starting to wonder if maybe he should have checked more about the neighborhood beyond the crime rates and local schools.

“Uh, congratulations?” Nikita says when nothing else comes to him.

“Thanks, it’s great. I love him a lot.” Steven leans in, his demeanor changes. “That isn’t a problem, is it?”

“Um. No. Why would it be?” Nikita is taken back by the question, but he sort of gets it, he guesses. He isn’t exactly matching Steven’s jovality.

He can’t help it if he just isn’t that type of person.

“I’m just making sure,” Steven leans back again, his jovial air returning. “So, here’s my number.” He holds out a card and Nikita takes it. “Feel free to contact me if you have any questions.” He smiles. “The next board meeting is coming up on the 15th next month. It’s in the clubhouse, by the pool. You should come.”

“I’ll think about it, thanks.”

“Cool, see you there. Oh, and welcome to Lightning Terrace.” Steven winks at him before turning and heading to the condo that’s right across the way.

“Yeah, ‘bye,” Nikita says, still looking at the card in his hand.

 

//

 

Now that he’s had some time to settle in, Nikita definitely loves the new place as much as he did when he originally looked at it. His neighbors have stopped just showing up at all hours of the day, with the exception of Tyler and Ondrej -- he thinks that they might be flirting with him via baked goods, which is totally welcome.

It’s all tasted really good, that’s all.

Tyler is a really good baker, okay?

Maybe they’re cute too, whatever.  

His point is: Nikita is a forever alone grumpy kind of guy and most of his neighbors seem to be respecting that now.

Nikita is settling into his chair near the back of the clubhouse, trying to get comfortable for the board meeting that’s about to start when someone slides into the seat next to him. He looks up, startled and ready to tell someone off, but relaxes when he sees that it’s Tyler, Ondrej sitting on the other side.

“I’m glad you came,” Tyler beams at him and it makes Nikita glad too, not that he wants Tyler to know that.

“Well, I have to know how the board works, right?” He looks towards the front of room where Steven is standing, talking to one of the Jonathans (Nikita has no idea which one. They're both French, making it harder to tell them apart. It's so annoying.) and Alex.

“Yeah,” Tyler agrees happily. “I made pineapple upside down cake for afterward.”

“It’s Tyler’s best recipe, you’re going to love it,” Ondrej adds.

“Afterward?” Nikita furrows his brow. Wait, was he supposed to bring something?

“Oh! We just mill around afterward, gossip and all of that fun stuff,” Ondrej explains. "And don’t worry, just bring something next time, Steven never remembers to mention it when he meets new HoA members.”

“No, I think he’s usually going for ‘it’s your first meeting, you’re a guest’,” Tyler counters, glancing back over his shoulder at Ondrej.

“Oh,” Nikita and Ondrej say at the same time. Ondrej and Tyler smile at him, but it’s different than the previous beaming. Softer, sweeter.

Steven calls the meeting to order and Tyler pats him on the arm as they turn their attention to the front.

Nikita is actually sort of look forward to ‘afterward’.


End file.
